Vortexing liquid container

Abstract

A nutatable plastic vessel, having a protuberant tip at its bottom end, has its side wall connected by a plastic hinge to a housing.

We claim: 
     
       1. A housing encasing an elongated vessel, said vessel having a bottom, a side wall and a longitudinal axis, the vessel being plastic and having a peripheral mounting surface, the housing comprising: a flexible, fingerlike hinge connecting the housing to a side wall of the vessel and integral with both the housing and vessel, whereby the vessel bottom is capable of nutational movement about the axis, and   a laminate, providing a gas and vapor seal, connected to the mounting surface.   
     
     
       2. A housing as set forth in claim 1 wherein the vessel is polypropylene and the laminate is a three ply laminate of a polyester film, a polyvinylidene coating on the polyester film, and a sheet of the polypropylene adhered to the coating, the laminate being sealed to the peripheral surface with the polypropylene sheet connected to the surface. 
     
     
       3. A housing as set forth in claim 2 wherein the hinge is positioned below the mounting surface. 
     
     
       4. A housing as set forth in claim 3 wherein the housing surrounds the vessel about the upper portion of the side walls coaxially to the longitudinal axis leaving the vessel lower portion easily accessible. 
     
     
       5. A housing as set forth in claim 4 wherein the vessel defines a protuberant tip portion lying on the longitudinal axis and extending downwardly from the vessel. 
     
     
       6. A housing as set forth in claim 1 wherein the hinge is positioned below the mounting surface. 
     
     
       7. A housing as set forth in claim 1 wherein the housing has a peripheral mounting surface, the vessel and housing mounting surfaces defining a common plane, the laminate also being connected to the housing peripheral mounting surface and being slit in the region immediately surrounding the vessel, thereby to facilitate nutation of the lower end of the vessel. 
     
     
       8. A housing as set forth in claim 7 wherein the hinge is positioned below the mounting surface. 
     
     
       9. A housing as set forth in claim 8 wherein the housing also defines a container having a peripheral mounting surface lying in the said, plane, the container being located separate from but contiguous the vessel, the laminate also being connected to the container peripheral surface.